Wellywood is angling to make more money and keep it through new co-production deals being sought with the Hong Kong film industry.
A who's who delegation of film and gaming production executives has addressed the Hong Kong film industry after signing a memorandum of understanding that it is hoped will lead to Chinese money bankrolling New Zealand productions.
The conference, at Hong Kong's HK$2 billion (NZ$460.2 million) digital creative community Cyberport, lists some of Wellington's creative luminaries as speakers, including the head of Peter Jackson's Park Road Post, Aimee McCammon, production veteran Dave Gibson and Jos Ruffell, of leading game makers Sidhe Interactive.
Institute of Screen Innovation director Laurence Greig said the meeting would bring big benefits for the New Zealand industry.
Cyberport and the Hong Kong film producers Shaw Brothers were good examples of large, experienced businesses keen to learn from Wellington, he said.
Cyberport chief executive Nicholas Yang said New Zealand was a role model in the way it had achieved global status and earned international acclaim.
New Zealand already had a co-production treaty with Korea but one had not yet been established under the free trade agreement with China.
"We want to get a framework that will accelerate a co-production treaty so we get groups from China and Hong Kong looking to produce films in Wellington and New Zealand.
"Wellington features on the world stage as a centre of innovation but we haven't got the scale when it comes to capital to produce our own content."
Typically big-scale production houses came to New Zealand to work with the expertise but took all the profit potential away when they left.
More capital access would allow New Zealand companies to own more of what they produced to increase future homegrown earnings off that.
"We are trying to migrate the New Zealand industry from being famous for producing other people's films and games to producing our own and owning the content," Mr Greig said.
Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast was a delegate and signed the deal.
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